A 40-year-old man was killed when a car crashed into a house in South Milwaukee.

Police identified the man Friday as John Janick of Caledonia.

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The crash happened at 9th Avenue and Edgewood Avenue early Thursday morning.

Police said an officer had tried to pull the car over for speeding, but the driver refused to stop. The driver of the car eventually lost control and struck a tree, and the car then burst into flames around 2 a.m.

"I've never heard the sound before, so I don't know what to compare it to," homeowner Samantha Schendel said.

"We just heard a loud noise and didn't know what it was and looked out the window and saw something on fire," neighbor Nancy Coogan said.

The officer was not actively pursuing the vehicle at the time of the crash, police said.

Police told WISN 12 News that the driver was killed in the crash.

No one else was in the car, and no one in the home was injured in the crash.

"We were just very lucky today, and yet we feel for whoever passed away in the car. That's kind of hard, too," Schendel said.

Crews removed the vehicle from the yard just before 6:30 a.m., and had cleared most of the scene by 7 a.m.